Dawson and Joey are in his room. They're sitting rather far apart on the bed and watching a movie together. "We did it," Dawson says as the movie ends, "First official movie night, post breakup." Joey decides to leave and Dawson tells her to wait, there's some pictures he wants her to see. "You're really okay with all this?" Joey says, amazed at how easily Dawson is talking with her. "I'm just so happy we're finally past all that relationship trauma," Dawson replies. They look over casting pictures for the Joey part in Dawson's film. "I'm kind of amazed at how together you are about us," Joey continues. "I learned to let go," Dawson says, "You've moved on, you're with Jack and you let go, so I in turn let go of you." Joey looks a little put off by those words and says goodnight, leaving through the door instead of the window.
The next morning in art class, Joey's class is drawing a female nude. The teacher gives Joey some positive feedback as Dawson enters. She is surprised to see him, he's doing research at the library and wanted to give her the new draft of the script. Dawson notices the naked woman in front of him and stumbles. The teacher asks him to leave and he does, apologizing all the way.
Pacey is in Andie's room and obsessing over his butt while she's in the bathroom. "It's impossible to get a good sense of one's own butt, you know?" He says as he checks his out in the mirror. Out of sight, Andie swallows a few more pills. Pacey approaches her. "This butt belongs in the hall of fame," he finishes. Andie is obviously distracted and Pacey sees a spent container of Xanax in her wastebasket. He picks it up, confused.
Dawson is in the library going through the stacks. "See anything you like?" a voice calls from the stack behind him. It's Devin, the model from Joey's class. Dawson apologizes for walking in on her before and she forgives him. "How do you do that?" he asks, "Pose nude like that?" "I'm a drama major," Devin replies, "So I look at it as an acting exercise." Dawson mentions his movie to her upon hearing about her background and asks her to read for the Joey part. His past awards win her over and she accepts the script. "I'd love to know what you think," Dawson tells her before leaving. "Stronger men have been crushed by what I think," Devin responds.
Jen is in her kitchen , and her grandmother walks in with groceries carried by Tyson Hicks, who introduces himself to Jen as Ty. He expresses interest on working on the film and Jen accepts; they're severely understaffed. "Even Grams has been doing craft service," Jen says. "You can use me for anything," Ty assures her.
Pacey tells Dawson about Andie's pills. "Not exactly your typical Saturday night muscle relaxant," he says. He asks if Dawson's noticed any change in Andie, and Dawson suggests he ask her about the whole thing himself. Pacey doesn't want to give her any more stress than she has, though. "The only thing you can really do," Dawson tells his friend, "Is make sure that the time she spends with you is as stress free as possible." They're setting up his bedroom for the shoot. "Don't you think filming the love scene in your own bedroom is a little perverse?" Pacey asks, "Even for you?"
Devin shows up at Dawson's door that night. She didn't like the script all that much, but believes she's gotten to the core of the Joey character. Dawson tries to dismiss her, but she insists on reading a scene with him. "If you can't take a little constructive criticism," Devin informs him, "You're never going to make it." Dawson relents and Devin suggests a scene for their reading. After a minute to prepare, they begin the rehearsal, reenacting a scene between Joey and Dawson from after the beauty pageant. Dawson is obviously blown away by her performance. "That was kinda… perfect," he says.
The following day, Jack is hard at work at the Icehouse and Joey tells him she's leaving early to work on Dawson's shoot. Jack is going to, having been asked by Jen to help out. Devin is at a table and Joey asks her if she's ready to order. Devin mimics her for a few moments before ordering; she's obviously trying to get the part down. Joey asks Jack to wait on her instead "She's really weirding me out," she tells Jack, and he agrees to take over. Devin asks if he knows Joey. "You could say that," he answers. Devin smiles. "Would you mind telling me everything you know about her?"
Andie's in her backyard studying. Pacey sits down beside her. He confronts her about the Xanax and Andie once again claim's it's her mothers. "Don't lie to me," Pacey tells her, "Please." Andie looks at him a moment before giving in. "I started taking it right after Tim died," she tells him. He asks her why she hid it from him and she tells him she's not sure. "But the doctor's not going to refill the prescription," she tells him, she's going to start therapy instead. Pacey tells her it couldn't hurt and Andie assures him she can take care of herself. "Don't look so worried," she says, "I'm okay." "But if you weren't okay," Pacey replies, "You'd tell me, right?" "Yeah," Andie answers him.
Dawson sets up the actors for rehearsal in his back yard. Jen plays Abby's part, as she's late. They begin running a scene in which the Jen character intrudes on movie night. Chris is playing the Dawson part a little too over the top, trying to get into each girl's pants, and Dawson tries to explain what's going on in his character's mind. Jen pulls him aside and tells him to ease up. Joey finds her way onto the set and Dawson introduces her to Devin. "I've been studying you," Devin tells her, accounting for her strange behavior in the Icehouse earlier. Joey is a little confused by this. "I have a couple Dawson questions I want to ask you," Devin continues. She thinks the two main characters are soul mates, forever connected by their love. "What do you think?" she asks Joey. Joey has no answer.
Dawson's shooting in front of the high school and Ty bumps into the camera, ruining the shot. Dawson tells everyone to take five, he's obviously frazzled by the whole thing. Ty takes Jen aside and tells her he can't concentrate with her around, eliciting a smile. Meanwhile. Jack fins Joey and asks her if it bothers her to see her life played out by actors in front of her eyes. "Dawson is clearly over me," She says, "I promise." "Where's your evidence?" Jack asks playfully, "Because I have proof to the contrary." "Everything is going to be fine," Joey replies, "Don't worry about it." The group moves on in the shot list, Devin watches Joey strangely throughout.
Ty stops Jen during the next break. "Being a good boy?" she asks him coyly. "Always," he answers. "What a disappointment," she responds. Ty massages her shoulders for her after she complains that they're hurting her. Jen asks him if he wants to come out with her that night after the shoot. He's more than willing.
Chris and Devin are confused about their parts, and deluging Dawson with questions. When Dawson tries to explain to Chris how his character feels after learning his girlfriend has kissed another guy, Chris asks for more detail. "It's agony," Dawson says, looking over at Joey as he speaks, "Complete, excruciating agony. It's like your heart has been ripped out of your chest and stomped on and you can't breathe. You don't want to eat, you can't function. It's the most intense pain that you'll ever feel and the worst part is there's no way to relieve it. It's unyielding merciless torture and you know that it's yours for life." He turns to Devin next, telling her she feels misunderstood. "You've known this guy your whole life," he tells her, "You're afraid to stay with him, you're afraid to stay without him. You're frustrated, you're so alone."
Joey is sorting out the extra photos when Devin finds her. She asks for some help; she wants Joey to show her how to be angry. Joey assures her she's not an angry person, so Devin provokes her. "So tell me," she asks, "How do you date one guy when you're still in love with another?" Joey tries to avoid the question. "What is this Jack guy," Devin continues, "A safety net?" Joey is still resisting, and Jack wanders over to the two. Devin turns her attention on him. "Tell me Jack," she says, "What's it like being the transition guy?" It works, Joey goes off on her and Devin walks away, satisfied. "What was that?" Jack asks. "She's too short to play me," Joey tells him.
Andie is freaking out over losing a prop, and Pacey notices her frustration. He pulls Andie aside, trying to calm her down. "I'm starting to get a little worried about you," he tells her, and she assures him she's fine. "You're really not fine," he insists, and asks her what he can do for her, because he feels screwed either way. Andie turns on him. "My dad is MIA, my mother is barely lucid, I'm holding on by my fingertips and yet somehow you're the one that's screwed?" "I'm not the bad guy," Pacey replies, "I'll be your shoulder to cry on, I'll even be your punching bag, but I'm not the bad guy." "Pacey," Andie responds, "I keep adding things to my life instead of subtracting. Between school, my mother, Jack, and you, something's got to give and the way I see it there's only one expendable on that list." Pacey tries to calm her down, telling her this is not the time to be making these decisions. "It's you Pacey, you're the one that's got to give," she says, "We need to cool it because us, that's the problem. If you really care about me, if you really want to help me, then you would just back off and leave me alone." She storms off.
Joey watches the next scene, as the Dawson character confronts the Joey character about her kissing another guy. Joey is obviously pained by watching the proceedings, and she walks up to Dawson after the shot and tells him they need to talk. "Dawson," she asks him bluntly, "Why do you insist on reliving, in excruciating detail, one of the most painful experiences of our lives? How can you be so okay with this? Didn't we mean anything to each other?" I'm glad that you found it so easy to just move on, but you know, this movie is just self indulgent and unfair." Dawson tells her to wait a minute. "You broke up with me," he snaps back, "You have a new boyfriend, you found your art passion, you have a whole new life. What do I have?" "A self obsessed movie," Joey replies. "Well forgive me for not letting go of the one thing I've got left," Dawson says, turning to go. Joey tries to tell him this isn't healthy but he spins and stops her. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to you bitch to me about what I've done," he yells, "You left me. You dumped me. I haven't moved on. I haven't let go and that's why I'm clinging for dear life to the one thing that's keeping me going." He storms out.
Everyone's cleaning up after the shoot and Jen helps her grandmother clean up the craft service table. Grams congratulates her on getting everyone to work together, "I was so proud," she tells her. "I found myself watching a beautifu,l accomplished young woman who just happened to be my granddaughter." She tells Jen that in her day women didn't have many options. "You can do and be anything you want," she tells her, "And without a man by your side." Ty shows up to meet her and Jen asks him to give her a second. "Have a nice time dear," Grams says, "You deserve it." Jen is happy to have her grandmother's acceptance for once.
Dawson finds Pacey in the hallway. "You look terrible," he notes. "I should," Pacey replies, "I really kinda screwed up with Andie, pushed too hard. She told we that I'm the element in her life she can do without." Dawson tells him he should just let her go. "Like what you've done with Joey?" Pacey asks him. "I've been fooling myself lately," Dawson responds, "but I think I'm going to do it. It's the only way to get someone to come back to you." "As textbook healthy as the letting go theory sounds Dawson, and you know, it may work out for you," Pacey says, standing up, "It doesn't apply to me. This isn't a case of teen romance gone sour. I know what I want. I want Andie, and she's really hurting right now. Whether she knows it or not, she needs me and I have absolutely no intention of letting her go."
Jen and Ty arrive off at Ty's friend's place. "I'm always up for a good party," Jen assures him. They enter, and Jen is surprised to see a bunch of well dressed teenagers studying the bible. With Ty's arrival, the group begins their talk. Ty smiles at a confused Jen and opens his bible.
Andie comes downstairs to answer the doorbell. It's Pacey, rose in hand. "Go away Pacey," she says, and slams the door in his face. He knocks again but she ignores him. Pacey walks away form the front door and around back to her window. He climbs a trellis to her window, nearly falling in the process, and hands her the rose. "Is this your way of staying away from me?" Andie asks, annoyed. "About that, Pacey says, "I've decided not to. You need me, McPhee. Who else is going to put up with you, right?" "You're acting like a psycho and the last thing I need in my life right now is another crazy person," Andie replies, "So go home." She tries to shut the window but he stops her. "I'm not going to let you push me away McPhee," he tells her, "I think I forgot to mention that I'm a charter member of the Andie McPhee fan club, and as a matter of policy, our adulation never wavers." "I just," Andie starts, breaking down, "I want to feel better Pacey." Pacey climbs in the window and tells her he can help her. "I'm not going to turn away from you. Not after all you've done for me and certainly not when you need me the most. We can do this together, and I know that I can help you," he says. "How do you know that you can help me Pacey?" Andie asks him. "Because," Pacey says, "I love you." "I love you too," Andie replies, and they kiss.
Dawson is going over the day's work and Chris invites him to join he and Devin to eat but he declines. "You impressed me today," Devin tells him, "You show real potential as a director." "I appreciate that," Dawson tells her. She asks him again to go with her but he tells her he wants to stay there for now, he'll join them another time. "Have a good night," Devin says, and leaves him to wander the set. Dawson watches her go them walks slowly through the set to find Joey. "Hey," he greets her, "I assumed you'd probably taken off." "Look Dawson," Joey says after an awkward moment, "I'm very sorry that I came down on you so hard this afternoon, and you know, it's just been really hard having my life reenacted in front of half of Capeside." "Joey," Dawson replies, "If I offended you or hurt in any way I'm sorry. I just thought by making this autobiographically cathartic movie I could put it all behind me in one swoop, you know? Turns out it doesn't work that way." "If only things could be that simple, right?" Joey says. "I've spent the last few months of my existence trying to figure out how to be without you," Dawson says, "The truth is most of the time all I wanted to do is to crawl into my room with my best friend, shut the blinds, and pour my heart out to her." "Dawson," Joey says, "I don't think you realize that it has been just as difficult for me. But I know we'll always be connected. I know that our lives are destined to be intertwined but…" Dawson finishes the though for her: "But we have move on," he says, and Joey nods while he speaks. "A little bit today, a little more tomorrow." Jack arrives to take Joey home and Dawson thanks him for his help. "Do you want us to hang out and help you clean up some of this stuff?" Jacks asks. Dawson shakes his head. "Go out and have some fun," he says, "You've already given me enough of your day." "You sure?" Joey asks. "Absolutely," Dawson replies. "Go. Get out of here." Everyone says goodnight and Dawson watches as Joey walks off with Jack.
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